


I Give You My Word

by PurpleFlowerGardener



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Drug Use, Force Sensitivity, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Kylo Ren Backstory, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Literal Sleeping Together, Multi, Old Friends, Orphans, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:17:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14415510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleFlowerGardener/pseuds/PurpleFlowerGardener
Summary: Rhea Gandion works on Defiance II, a man-made planet designed for the ultimate vacation. On what was supposed to be a normal workday, the First order shows up, and Rhea meets an old friend.





	1. Defiance

1  
Rain was an unusual occurrence on Defiance II. More important to think about is that Defiance II was a man-made planet designed to be the perfect vacation spot for rich people. Most people wanted a sunny planet. When it wasn’t in use, there were usually storms, but I lived underground when the planet was unused. I rarely saw rain in person.

We knew it was the First Order, and the working people were scared shitless. More importantly, I wasn't. I’d heard stories about the brutal treatment of the working people from previous visits from the First Order, but I was truly some of the most in danger because my specific job was to be one of the pretties who greets the visitors. I say ‘pretties’ because we're not just woman. There are men, women, and aliens without gender or with more than any human could comprehend. We’re just all exceptionally beautiful versions of our species and sex. We could double as a prostitute, but we were not contractually obligated to fuck them.

I was laying my bunk before ready time trying to sleep for the last few minutes before my alarm would go off when I head hurried whispers in frightened tones. I immediately turned in and began to eavesdrop.

“And the last time, twelve people got seriously hurt- the First Order isn’t good news! There might be a lot of them spending money here, but if you or I get in the way, they won’t hesitate to hurt anyone of us,” A feminine voice stressed. I felt I could recognize who it was, but not enough without a visual.

“I know, but if we work safely, they won’t hurt us,” the other voice, another woman, but her voice was deeper and with an almost modulated quality that identified her as not human. The first girl puffed out a long breath.

“You don’t get it when you work with the First Order, there isn’t a ‘safe’. You seem to think you can be smart with them, but you can’t! Trust me, Agnes, I’ve worked with them before,” She said and her name surfaced in my head. Agnes and Victoria were always side by side. Agnes was an Arorian, an unearthly Prettie, and Victoria was a dark-skinned human with almond-shaped eyes with soft golden Irises. I wasn’t attracted to women most of the time, but Victoria was always so beautiful, it was hard for me not to drown in her eyes.

“I will protect you, Vic,” Said Agnes. Agnes was obviously in love with Victoria, but there were few people on D2 that weren’t. Victoria was always a favorite prettie of all of us, but she was also so smart and wonderful to talk to. She was usually brought along with groups, and usually, the leader took to her.

“That is very sweet, but I don’t think you understand. The First Order was the most dangerous group to come here I’ve ever seen, and I was so young. I hope that this time I’m with a less crazy person. Last time, the man who was paying me to come along with him almost died from alcohol poisoning,” She said, and they started to walk away. I felt the sense of doom descending onto my heart, and I knew there wouldn’t be anymore sleep for me. There was work to be done, and maybe if I got done early, I’d be able to relax then. 

I slipped out of my bunk to the floor and walked to the communal closets. My favorite, candy apple red jumpsuit, was gone. Some bitch had taken it, so I settled on a maroon off the shoulder dress that went down to my mid-thigh. I realized I’d never worn this dress, so I walked into a mirror room to look me up.

The mirror rooms are small rooms, no bigger than 4 feet by 4 feet and 8 feet tall, were covered in mirrors. Every surface of wall, ceiling, and floor were covered in mirrors. I looked at myself from every angle and realized how much I’d been missing out, not wearing this before. Unfortunately, this was a strictly daytime dress, I’d have to change when the sun got low in the sky. Not a problem, but I’d have to pick a night time outfit now, otherwise all the best ones would be gone when I got there.

I got out of the mirror room and walked back to the closet. I shopped around for a while, but a black and red latex dress was calling my name. It was a strictly nighttime dress, hardly long enough to be considered a dress, and cut intricate down my front. It was low enough I had to wear a custom bra with it, but I looked so good I gave it no thought.

Deep inside the closet were the shoes. I pulled a pair of black heels out of the back, and a pair of thigh highs from a shelf in the back. A pair of black earrings and a matching necklace were the final touches. Hair and makeup were the same as usual- maintenance, nothing too flashy.

I walked to the lifts and stood in line. As I stood in line, the floor began to move forward, but this was expected. It was riding a track to the surface world. I pulled my daily orders from the wall and began to read as we made the trip to the surface.

I was on liquor duty in my favorite bar. It was a quiet pub at the edge of our city. After receiving the guests, I’d either be dragged along with them to party or I’d change into the latex I’d picked out and hid in my bunk and go to work in the pub. After my shift was over, I’d sleep in my surface dwelling.

We reached the top and stowed our orders on our person. I folded mine up little and slid it into the lining of my strapless bra. It was commonplace for women to hide their orders there. Men hand other places. 

My arrival group was a fairly early awake group, but there were many other groups of pretties already milling around the breakfast bar. One perk of starting work earlier than some- you get first pick at the buffet. I was a little nervous, but I stomached some scrambled eggs and a berry smoothie. 

I drifted toward three girls I ran with on off days. There was Kaylee, a half human with shiny opalescent skin and brown eyes. Her hair was a curly jet black mane, and she wore my red jumpsuit. Next to her was a humanoid droid named E14K1. It was crafted to look female. She stood six feet tall and had no hair. She was the only K type droid on Defiance 2, aside from her masculine counterpart E13M1, but on Defiance 5, there were thousands of her modal. E14K1 preferred to be called Ellie, and E13M1 liked to be called Mitch. Standing with them was Victoria, in all her beauty.

They stopped talking when I approached. I’d never seen Ellie look frightened before, but now it was the only emotion displayed on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Ellie was quite alive in her own way. She felt every emotion a living thing could on the same level we did, even if she had to have emotions programmed into her code. She’d first been designed to be a therapy bot, empathy was the first thing that she could feel. Next came love, hate, happiness, envy, and then fear and all the rest. 

“Haven’t you heard?” Victoria said in low tones. I scanned the crowd. It wasn’t just Ellie and Victoria who were frightened. “The ‘guests’ are the First Order.”

“I’d heard, I’m just not afraid. I know how to handle crazy people,” I shrugged. Kaylee gave me a weird look.

“You’ve never met the First Order,” Victoria said, in the same tone of caution.

“If you think like that, you’re certain to get hurt,” I replied, and Ellie nodded.

“The human mind is a strong thing. She’s right to believe her outlook will change the state of things, but she lacks experience with the First Order,” Ellie said in her almost human voice. 

“Have you ever worked with the First Order?” I asked, and Ellie nodded. 

“I was employed as arm candy,” Ellie said. “I wasn’t in danger, but I watched a guy push Mae into Callie so they’d fight. He did it for shits and giggles, and to impress his co-workers. They were really drunk. Didn’t know what was going on.”

 

“Huh, that was pretty shitty of them. I have no intention of getting drunk with The First Order anyway.” I shrugged. Mae and Callie had been on friendly terms for a while, but now, when I spotted the two girls in the crowd, it was clear there was some bad blood. They stood at opposite ends of the crowd. 

The four of us traded idle talk of stuff that was happening for a while. It wasn’t anything of true substance, but just gossip. Pretties gossiped a lot, it was in the job description. My heart wasn't in it. I knew all the latest, but after this group of guests, there would be stories galore. The Pretties and sex workers were provided with preventive measures for pregnancy, but after every visit, there was at least one girl packing her bags with a doctor’s slip in hand. You’d either never see her again, or she’d be back in a month. 

Some of the pretties doubled as prostitutes, so I looked around at my pears. Who of us would be going? 

Victoria snapped her fingers near my face. I focused back into the conversation.

“Hey! Defiance to Rhea!” She said, and I blinked a few times and leaned away from her.

“What?” I asked, a little annoyed. “What’d I miss?”

“Kaylee asked-” Victoria said and Kaylee broke in.

“-what your orders are.” Kaylee finished.

“Liquor duty in the Pub if I'm not arm candy,” I said, and Victoria nodded. 

“I’m working in the minute by minute,” Victoria responded. The minute by minute was a service that answered wild demands. It was a necessary task, in the same way, cleaning the toilet is a necessary task. We sighed in empathy. Whatever nice things you could say about Victoria, she was not one to turn down empathy.

“Yeah, I’ll manage,” She shrugged. A silence followed, and suddenly the crowd of gathered Pretties was hushed. A shadow was descending from the heavens in the shape of a ship, and now it was all anyone was looking at.

Blain walked out from the crowd. He was our boss. Tall, blond and blue-eyed, he’d been the object of my affections for as long as I’d been working on Defiance II. He parked himself in front of the group as the ship landed. After a long period of the ships system’s working, the hatch popped open. The first person to walk out was a tall and thin, pale ginger man. He was obviously the leader. I looked at Victoria. She was impassive but I could tell she didn’t want to be his arm candy.

Next out was a dark man. Much taller than the Ginger, and tanner but still pale, with a hawkish nose. His hair was long for a man, and was so tall- he dwarfed me. He was- he looked dangerous. I was afraid that also struck by indecision. He was beautiful, but there was a wildness to him I’d only seen before in my old teacher, on any living thing. I’d only heard of such power in books, and I dared not think what I was now suspecting, especially if it were true.

As if he read my thoughts, his eyes shot to me, and a moment of pure electricity passed between us. I felt as though I’d known him before; when I was little, maybe we’d been each other's kindergarten boyfriend and girlfriend; or maybe he’d never seen me, maybe we’d never met in person, maybe we were friends online; or maybe my wild assumption about him- about his powerful aura was correct, and he’d made the electricity once he realized I thought he was a Jedi.

How could I have known? How could I know now, that he was? So sure, that yes, he was powerful in the ways of the Force, and how could I know? I knew most people weren’t, why was he special? It was like-

And then all the memories flooded back.


	2. Rhea Gandion, 1

Rhea had grown up on a planet that was mostly covered in water, or so she thought then. She remembered being small, or maybe everyone was huge. Whatever, the world was so big, she could hardly realize there were so many others. It was so annoying whenever her mom would freak out when she wandered off to see the world.

And then they were gone. There had been a fire or- no, first lightning, and she’d seen someone make the lightning. The house was burning, and Rhea watched from afar, knowing what her mom had said to her if someone did that. She was to retreat to the top of the hill nearby and hide in the tree root fort for as long as it took, whatever that meant. She showed her a picture of a man and said he would come to get her. She’d been so serious when she’d told her what to do, young Rhea had taken it to heart.

Rhea hid in the tree root fort like her mom had instructed. She stayed there for three days, only a little hungry or thirsty because her mother had hidden rations and water canteens in the fort, but they had run out by the time the man came to get her. Rhea had realized what had happened by then. Even at 9, she was still a little slow, but by then, she knew as well as she knew humans needed air, that she was now an orphan.

The man, Master Luke, came to get her late on the third day of her hideout. She’d been sleeping, but due to hunger, not well. She heard his footsteps and crawled to the back of the hideout. She breathed as quietly as possible, keeping herself hidden. This had been an act of malintent, who knew if this person was to be trusted?

“Rhea Gandion?” a voice asked. It was masculine, and she edged forward to see who was there.

Rhea sprang from the fort at the sight of Master Luke. She was finally with someone who could be trusted.

“Mama said you’d come!” She said, rapturous. Young Rhea’s face then fell, realizing why he’d come. Her mom was gone.

“Yes, Rhea. I’m going to take you to your new home,” He said, and she took his hand. The two walked to his ship, landed next to the remains of her home. She looked inside the house, trying to see what was left of her life. Nothing. The walls were basically obliterated but for burnt charcoal stilts and concrete foundations. Shattered, blackened glass was spread through the main room, there had been a skylight. 

Master Luke brought her into his ship and gave her a meal and a place to sleep. When she awoke, Master Luke was landing his ship, on another world. 

Months later, she had the makings of an extremely powerful Jedi, and in remembering this, could say who the man who made her remember was. Kylo Ren, or as she had known him, Ben Solo.


	3. Dialogue With The Creature In The Mask

“You’re with me,” Kylo said, and I stepped forward. He didn’t offer me his arm like the others were doing like most did always, but then again, I’d known he was different.

The group walked around, and Kylo and I drifted off. I was in a haze, remembering the boy I grew up with. We ended up in the back of a small ‘everything’ bar. Truthfully, all the bars on Defiance II were everything bars, but this one served more than just alcohol. You could buy any recreational drug here without a sighing bartender.

“What are you doing on this planet?” Kylo asked quietly as we sat in a tall-backed booth in the back. 

“Working. What are YOU doing on this planet?” I asked and crossed my arms. I was kicking myself for picking a daytime only dress. It was noon already, and meeting an old ‘buddy’ would require a long day. I didn’t know when I’d be able to go get my other outfit, or if I’d wear that one at all. I’d be sweating bullets in that thing.

“Forced to have a day off,” he responded. “Where did you go? You completely dropped off my people’s radar.” 

“I hid. Didn’t access the Force one bit, let it go inert,” I responded. He leaned back and studied me for a while. I suddenly realized how much skin I was showing. And how he had really grown up from what I remembered. Even if he weren't much taller than I’d remembered, he wasn’t a boy anymore. 

“Can you still use it?” He asked and I nodded.

“Yes, but I don’t,” I responded, and Kylo cocked his eyebrow at me. 

“Why?” He asked, and I leaned back.

“I wanted to hide from your people,” I responded. “I didn’t want to be part of that shit.” 

“You could have power,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t want power, I want a real life. This is a good life,” I said and made a large general motion with my hands.

“Like this is all that fun for you,” He said, and I cocked my eyebrow at him.

“You’re underestimating how interesting you’re being,” I said and he smirked a little.

“You know what I meant,” he said, and his eyes drifted off my face, to the waiter who approached. He, a Prettie named Quentin, handed us menus. He smiled and winked at me,

“Can I Get a glass of water with some B2 in it?” I asked, and Quentin pulled out his book and wrote my order on it.

“Any flavoring?” He asked in his honeyed tones. 

“Indigo berry, thanks,” I responded and he smiled and wrote it down, and looked at Kylo.

“Plain water, please,” Kylo said, and I frowned at him.

“That's boring, get a mix,” I commanded. Kylo looked at me incredulously.

“What's good?” Kylo asked the waiter.

“I love the indigo berry, but strawberry and marshmallow is great too,” Quentin responded.

“I’ll have the same,” he said, and Quentin wrote it in his book, and spun around and walked to the bar. “What's B2?” 

“It’s a mild calming drug,” I responded. “Designed to calm people on first dates and the such.” Kylo nodded, and Quentin returned with two glasses of water. He delicately tore open two drink mixes and poured them in. The water turned a deep purple at the top and shimmered to a dark pink at the bottom of the glass. Quentin pulled out a mix-in gun, and set the dosage on the panel and shot it into mine.

“Would you like some B2?” he asked Kylo who shrugged. In went a smaller dose of B2. Quentin walked back to the bar to clean up some stuff.

“Why’d he change the dose for mine?” He asked as I stuck a straw into the water and took a sip. At first, indigo berry is a little slower, but it tastes like every fruit in the tropics when you give it some time. 

“I have B2 more often that you do,” I replied after sipping the drink. “I’ve built up a mild immunity, so I need more to get the same effect.” Kylo nodded and took a sip. He was still the quiet boy I’d know in training.

I drank slowly until I began to feel the relaxing effect. I leaned back in my seat. B2 had been my friend many times, keeping me calm when I was arm candy with some rich guy I wasn’t comfortable around. B2 was a wonderworker.

“Back on topic, you enjoy working here?” Kylo asked, continuing to sip his drink. 

“Yeah, I mean everyone has bad work days, but most of the time, I’m partying and getting paid for it,” I replied and drained my drink. I felt the euphoria building in my chest and I let a small grin part my lips.

“Whats funny?” he asked, and I smiled fondly. It wasn’t like talking to an estranged classmate anymore but like a friend.

“Nothing, I just drank this too quickly, euphoria bloom,” I explained and smiled. “Might not be the most naturally gotten high a person can get, but damn, it feels good.”

“I suppose it would,” he said and took another sip of his drink.

“So, what do you want to do now?” I asked once he’d slowly finished his glass. He shrugged.

“What’s fun?” he asked, and I laughed.

“You’re telling me you have so little free time that you don’t know what you like to do in your free time?” I asked and he laughed with me.

“What's fun here, is what I meant,” he asked, still smiling. His accepting the B2 was unlike the Ben I remembered, but it was making him seem more like the Ben I remembered. The happy one.

“Well, the virtual reality is pretty awesome,” I said, and he nodded. I signaled the waiter, and Kylo pulled a card out of his pocket. It had the name ‘Armitage Hux’ printed on it, and I laughed to myself. He wasn’t using his own card.

We walked out of the bar and were greeted with rain. We dodged under storefronts to avoid getting wet until we got to the VR transport. We stood on the platforms and it sunk into the ground. We held onto the transport pole and watched as we sped to the VR hub. We stepped off the platform, which sped back to its original spot. We stepped into the hub and entered a VR double pod.

Instantly, our surroundings were darkened, but for a panel with options on it. I reached over and programmed in my home world settings on instinct. We stood in a field near my old home.

“Where are we?” Kylo asked. I smiled.

“This is the world I was born on,” I said. I pointed up the hill to the tree. “When my mom died, I hid in that tree.”

Kylo started walking up the hill to the tree. My perspective had to follow, but I didn’t move. From my angle, it was like I was floating up the hill next to Kylo, who walked us up the hill. We could see out to sea for miles like I always programmed it. 

“It’s beautiful,” Kylo said, and I nodded.

“I can’t visit in reality, but this is good enough,” I said.

“It shouldn’t be. You should want to see it in person,” he replied. 

“But I don't. I’m fine using VR to explore,” I said.

“Why?” Kylo asked and turned to me. We sat on the top of the hill, overlooking the sea.

“I guess I got enough exploring done when you destroyed Master Luke’s school,” I replied with a little sourness in my voice, “I had to run off, get away from everything you were standing for.”

“He attacked me,” Kylo retorted.

“I don’t believe you,” I replied. “Besides, you burned down my home. That kinda has pretty fucked up connotations for me, as my first home was burned by someone using the Force.” 

Kylo was silent. He was brooding and looking at me.

“This was a mistake,” He said and stood up. He offered me his hand, and I took it, and he lifted me to my feet.

“I agree,” I replied. “I’m sorry I can’t go with what you do,” I sighed. “It’s just not in my nature.”

“No one is born on the side that gets the most opposition,” Kylo responded, and pressed the off button. The VR Pod went dark but for a dull grey glow. “We are made. Our ‘sides’ are learned, and the saying, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is bullshit.”

“I know, but I just don’t want to learn that,” I replied, and he frowned at me. I realized that the B2 had been out of his system a lot sooner than with me. I felt it leaving me just now, but the way he was talking and acting- he was back to his right mind.

“Then you’re stupid for it,” He said, and he stepped out of the pod. I followed and ordered a transport back to the surface. We held the pole, his hand above mine, and the leather of his glove brushing my bare hand just the slightest.

When we reached the surface, I immediately knew something was off. I looked around, and I saw Victoria, sitting in the street. Tears were streaming from her eyes. She was cowering in the rain. A few yards away, the leader, General Hux, stood with some of his men. He had his hand on his gun.

I rushed to Victoria’s side, whose eyes were peeled wide and flooding, as she shuddered, wracked with sobs. I put myself between General Hux and Victoria as my first move.

“Victoria! What’s wrong?” I asked.

“He- he hit me!” She sobbed. In lower tones, she added, “he tried to touch me and I didn’t want him to. I tried to run.”

“I did no such thing,” General Hux said, “Liar girl.” 

I frowned at Hux and began to help Victoria up. “Let’s go, Vic,” I whispered, and the two of us started to walk away.

“Hey! I didn’t say you could go!” Hux shouted, and I stopped and looked back. He was holding his blaster outside his holster now, and he looked like he was ready to level it at our heads.

“Hux-” Kylo started to step in, but Hux raised the blaster at my head level, and fired. A twinge in my head and-

I expected my world to stop. I expected to have my brains sprayed on the sidewalk, only to be washed away by the unexpected rainstorm. But I didn’t.

I peeked open my eyes and stepped backward with Victoria, who was shuddering, her eyes as wide as saucers. The blaster bolt was hovering and shaking just inches from where I’d stood. 

“HELP! Quentin! Call security!” Victoria shrieked, and I turned my head to see Quentin calling for security. 

The twinge in my head was still happening, and It felt like a muscle I hadn’t used in a long time. I flicked my wrist up. The bolt rocketed toward the sky and hit the network of atmospheric stabilizers. They were used to fairly high powered blasts from lighting, so it didn’t hurt it.

“Ren, did you-” Hux asked, anger brewing in his voice, which trembled in anger

“Yes,” Kylo said quickly. He studied me with renewed interest. “She’s an old friend of mine. Didn’t want her dead.”

Hux was about to say something, but security rushed up to us and started to walk Victoria and I away from Kylo Ren and Hux. Just in time, the sun was getting low. I wouldn’t have to change.


	4. Rhea Gandion, II

Ben Solo was 15 when Rhea Gandion was 9, upon her arrival at Master Luke’s school, where he taught The Force, and other, useful skills. 

Rhea loved the Force. It was like magic to her, like all the wonderful powers she’d read about in books and seen in movies, and it was like a dream, for the first few days of being able to use it. At age 9, she couldn’t use it much, but after a month of training, she lifted a pebble with what seemed to be her mind. From there, she felt unstoppable. 

When she was 12, she was able to stop a blaster bolt with no trouble at all. It was as easy as breathing, harnessing the Force, and she didn’t know the danger it would bring, and how her Idle would come to disappoint her. Ben Solo was 17, and he was so strong in the ways of the Force, and Rhea wanted nothing but to be as strong as him. 

When she was 13, she was sleeping and dreaming of Ben Solo’s power, when shrieks woke her from her peaceful dream. She crept out of her bedroom and out into the field of tall grass and watched her second home burn down, and on her ingrained instincts, fled to the top of the nearby hill, where she watched everything burn from a better view. 

She knew she couldn’t stay forever, as Master Luke could be dead by now. She’d have to figure something else out. She was 13, and no longer slow. She had to go somewhere else, so she abandoned the top of the hill, and began making her trek down to the city in the valley below the Jedi school. She had no Idea that Master Luke was still alive. 

In the Valley, she spent the night under the front deck of an inn, and the next morning, she began looking for a job so she could earn money, and not have to sleep outside. She ventured into the forests for food, as the forest was lush and green with every form of fruit-bearing tree she had ever known. It was enough to keep her alive for the time until she got a job helping out a moving company. It didn’t pay well, but she never went hungry. 

From that company, she would watch ships take off, and wanted to do that too. She wanted to learn to fly, so she could save up for a ship of her own, and go to work somewhere she’d make more. Maybe she’d been a porter, get a bigger ship.

Unfortunately, she never got that far. At the age of 16, she fell in love with a traveling man, who promised her the world. He brought her onto his ship, and took her to Defiance II, and ditched her. Her dreams were shattered because you had to be of age to work on Defiance II in the jobs she knew how to do, but Blain, the manager of the Pretties, took her under his wing and helped her learn useful skills. On her 18th birthday, she started training to become a Prettie, and almost never thought about Ben Solo, who slowly claimed his power within the First Order. 6 years of working on Defiance II, 24 years old, she finally saw him again.


	5. Oceanic

“Ok, tell me exactly what happened,” I asked, and Victoria wiped her eyes and sniffled. She was so shaken, it frightened me. 

“We were in the bar, he was being an ass to Quentin, so I told him not to, and he kinda pushed me. Later, when they were all kinda drunk with their arm candy, he started to touch my thighs. I was wearing a short dress, so it was skin contact,” Victoria focused on the camera that was recording her account. It would be archived and used in later visits from the First Order. 

“Then?” I asked her in as calming a voice as I could muster.

“Then- I tried to move his hand because I didn’t want him to touch me there, but he didn’t stop. He touched me further and further up my thigh under my dress, but I stood up when he actually touched my underwear. I told him I didn’t want him to touch me there, and I’d given him enough hints as it was. He stood up, and so did his me, and I started to run out the door, but I was wearing five-inch heels, so he was faster, and he pushed me down in the street. You saw what happened, but for the record, I’ll go on.” She took a shaky breath. “You ran up and asked me what was wrong, and then he got angrier and fired a blaster bolt at us, but it stopped in mid-air, just a little way from your head. Then it went at a 90° angle and shot up into the sky. Then we ran off,” she finished, and I nodded for the camera. 

“I was there for some of what she’s saying. Can confirm,” I made eye contact with the camera. It was important for the witness to say they saw it on camera to keep everyone involved accountable. 

“Ok Vic, we’re done,” I said, and turned off the camera, fully knowing they had the room bugged so if we said anything else, it was on the record.

We walked out and I walked her to her bunk. She had on mascara before the rain started, and she looked a mess. 

“You should go take a shower, get that makeup off,” I told her and she nodded. She pulled a pair of lavender pajamas out of her private clothing compartment and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

I returned to my bed nook and changed into the evening outfit I’d picked out this morning. I still had work to do. I entered my situation into the wall monitor and was issued a new set of orders. I sighed and walked to the Minute by Minute. Victoria had the rest of the day off, but I still had to work.

The next five hours were spent doing various tasks to make sure this was the best damn vacation that the First Order had ever had. It was a long five hours.

At 10, my shift ended and I sunk into my bunk, exhausted. This was one hell of a day, and sleep enfolded me with ease. I was taken to a usual dream, one I wish I never had in the first place, but this one was altered. It wasn’t centering around my first love, that asshole Gregor who dumped me on this planet because I didn’t want to give him head. It was following Kylo.

The dream started in my homeworld, instead of the world Master Luke taught me the force on. There was Gregor, and I assumed the dream would be the same as usual. Instead of walking up to me with his sweet and comforting smile, Gregor looked at me with disdain. I furrowed my brow- this wasn’t following the script of my dreams.

“You, what are you doing here?” I spat. I knew something was very wrong now.

“To be honest with you, I am not sure,” he responded. The two of us stood. Gregor was taller than me, but not as tall as Kylo. He was 5’11 and still made me feel small. When we’d been together, I’d liked feeling smaller than him. Now it just made me feel weak. He was a brunette with a straight nose and nice cheekbones and chin structure. His eyes were naturally nice looking brown orbs, and he was easy to underestimate. I wondered if that was why he was always such an ass. 

“You should, I mean, this is my dream,” I crossed my arms, “Aren’t you some incarnation of my subconscious telling me that I need to get out more or something like that?” I snapped. Gregor frowned.

“No, this is my dream. I don’t know why you’re here,” he said, and I shook my head. 

“I just fell asleep on my bunk. This is my dream,” I said, almost shouting, “You’re just a figment of my imagination or something uncomfortable like that.”

“No, I just lay down in my ship. You’re not real,” he said, raising his voice.

“You’re wrong!” I shouted at him and took a few steps forward. “You sack of shit, you’re just trying to freak me out. Get lost!” 

“Shut up, Bitch!” He stepped forward and pushed me. I fell down the slope, and I was reminded of an old movie. I was tempted to shout, ‘as you wish!’, but I withstood the temptation. 

Suddenly I fell down. There was a pit that hadn’t been there before. I was falling for so long, but I wasn’t afraid, I knew I was traveling down, down down, but I felt weightless like a bird must feel all the time. My dress fluttered around me, and I fell down. I felt like I was diving into the ocean, and suddenly, I was.

I was deep in the ocean, but I could still see. It was dark blue tinted, but I could see the ocean floor, and I slowly sank to the sand. I couldn’t feel the pressure, or the cold, or the lack of oxygen. I was breathing, but It didn’t hurt. I felt like there was a bubble around me that I couldn’t see or feel. The water surrounded me, wrapping me up like a present, and It was comforting.

I took stalk of my surroundings. The ground was sandy, and I was alone. I couldn’t see a shoreline, but in the distance, the water got darker, and I knew instinctively, that it was a trench. I walked toward it slowly, but there was no other way I could move down here. It was still hard to move. 

I looked back to where I’d landed, and my footsteps were staying in the sand. I was barefoot, and instead of puffs of sandy water, it was footprints. 

I got to the edge of the trench and looked down. A breath of wind came up from the deep, and with it, a voice whispered for me to come down to it. I knew I could trust it, so I jumped out into the open space. I began to fall slowly and descended into the dark. I lost my things in the dark. I had been holding a bag, and I’d been wearing a dress, but they were gone. I was alone, and falling slowly, into the dark. You’d have thought it was frightening, but it wasn't. It was comforting. I trusted the darkness around me.

I realized I’d closed my eyes, and opened them. It had grown very dark, but I could still see. And I knew I wasn't alone, I could feel a presence. I knew that presence, it was Kylo Ren, but I couldn’t see him.

“You know, I watched you when you were young,” his voice bubbled toward me from each direction.

“Where are you?” I asked the darkness, but Kylo only chuckled.

“You were so strong from such a young age, I wanted you as an ally,” He said and I turned in circles looking for him.

“I wanted to be like you, I didn’t think I was strong when there was you to compare to myself,” I replied, still looking for him.

“I know. You would have flourished under the rule of Supreme Leader Snoke,” he said, and he materialized out of the darkness. He was also naked but it wasn’t sexual. It seemed more like an exposure of sensitivity, of casting off a layer of humanness. He was taller here, and the long scar on the side of his face was gone. His face lacked a human quality that startled me.

“We would have flourished under Luke’s continued teaching,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.

“He was a fool when you let go of the light, the possibility isn’t even the right word, everything opens up, you could do so much, be so much if you just embraced the darkness inside,” He said, and put his hand on my cheek.

“You make it sound so easy,” I whispered, and put my hand over his hand on my face.

“It is that easy,” he responded, looking at me endearingly.

“But it isn’t,” I responded and closed my eyes, the warmth of his hand comforting me. “Not for me, I care about people too much…”

“We can protect those you love,” He responded, tilting my head up to me, and I opened my eyes again. His eyes were dark and kind. I couldn’t believe that these words and ideas were coming from one so beautiful.

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, Kylo. Death isn’t the mask I’m fit to wear,” I said, and stepped away from him, my hand lingering on his.

Kylo said nothing. Just stared at me. 

“You don’t know that. You’ve never dealt the hand of death,” Kylo said, unhappy.

“Yes, I do. I’ve lived with a lot, but just because I’ve seen some fucked up shit doesn’t give me a pass to kill,” I said. “There are very few things that can’t be taken back and fixed, and death is one of those things. I can’t deal with that.”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” He said and stepped toward me again, but I stepped back, keeping out of his reach.

“You’ll have to,” I said, and began to swim up. Kylo stayed down on the ground for a second but started to swim after me.

It stayed like that for a while, his almost reaching up and grabbing my ankle to drag me back down, but I always kept a little out of his reach. The water gradually grew clearer, and brighter, and suddenly, I could make out each wave from the whole thing, and I could see the white shimmering sun far above me.

When I finally broke the surface, I imagined Kylo would cling to my legs to drag me down again, but as I looked around the surface and he was nowhere to be seen. I dove down below the surface to look around, but he was nowhere to be seen. This time, when I dove, I couldn’t breathe. I had to resurface, and the second I broke the surface, I was laying in my bunk. 

I flailed around in my blankets a little, heart pounding. Where had Kylo gone?! Was he dead?! I reached out with my mind and searched the planet for him, and them- yes, he was there. Just a- just a dream.

I slid out of my bunk. It was still night, and most people were still asleep. I crept through the labyrinth of bunks on quiet sock feet, on making a sound, as I walked row after row of my co-workers. I didn’t know what I was doing, really. I was just going for a walk, but there was something pulling me down the twists and turns. Every time I would reach a T or X in the corridor, I stood for a second and felt a push from within. This wasn’t the breath of ocean wind telling me to jump off and sink, but one from within me, guiding me to somewhere good. I couldn’t say where, though.

I found myself in front of a service door that was restricted to maintenance workers, but the voice inside told me to go inside. I pushed it open and found a set of rails. I stepped onto the old, bronze platform. I was quiet, and I road it up the slope it was built into. I knelt on the platform as it picked up speed. These things weren’t meant for casual use, they were for workers, and were designed purely for effectiveness. Fast, sturdy, and could carry a lot of weight.

I got to the top and was greeted by a heavy door. I pushed it open with a grunt and was met with a large number of ships. I finally knew where I was. I was in the hanger. It was completely deserted, so I walked out without having to sneak. The pull inside me got stronger and more pointed. I walked to a very small ship, room for one only. A model I knew well, the only type I knew how to fly.

I jumped into the tiny ship and started it up quietly. I felt like I was inside an extension of my body. I closed the door quietly and grinned. Whatever the pull wanted me to do, I was getting to fly again, and that was enough to make me trust it. 

I unlocked the garage door and taxied down the launch pad. I tiled up, and then yes- I was flying. I quickly dodged between two slots of the environmental net that orbited the planet, and I was out. I grinned harder than I’d ever thought I could, and then- yes, I was out of the atmosphere. I did a loop and laughed like a child on Christmas morning. 

I found there were tears in my eyes. I knew I had to follow the pull in my chest, but some part of me knew I would be done on Defiance II, and I didn’t know if I’d ever see my family, the one I’d assembled from had working Pretties, ever again. I didn’t even know if I could see them again, off world. Even if they’d want to see me. 

Through the tears and grins, I knew I was better off here, in a stolen spacecraft following the weirdest instinct I’d ever followed than on Defiance.


	6. The Resistance

6 The Resistance  
The pull inside my chest, I’d decided, was the Force, and It was not coming from Kylo. I’d realized the dream was his doing because it wasn’t like my normal dreams. It was far too clear and memorable.

I thought- however unlikely it sounds when I say it, it felt like another person was calling out to me, specifically. It was a woman, I was 100% sure of that. 

The pull lead me to a pretty rough part of space, a warring place with discarded parts of broken ships just drifting around. Something you don’t realize after a battle, there is a lot of clean up. Either this was a very recent battle, or the opponents were not good about post battle clean up. I jumped when my radio crackled. It had been silent the whole time.

“Cruizer, state your business,” A masculine voice said, and I stared at my radio like it’d grown a face. I twisted a knob, and it crackled a little more. I flipped a switch, and I grumbled. I’d only ever flown one of these ships, never used them for long enough to use the com system.

“I fucking hate this system so much,” I whispered as I messed with knobs and dials until the radio crackled again.

“Sorry?” The voice said, and I jumped yet again. 

“You can hear me?” I asked, and a stifled laugh came through the com.

“Uh, yeah. Are you in need of assistance?” He asked, and I laughed.

“No, I just don’t know how to work the coms on this type of cruizer. Nothing like the ones used on my planet,” I replied. The man laughed with me. “This story isn’t very believable, but it's all I got, uh,” I paused, thinking how to tell him why and how I came to get here. “I was on Defiance II but then- I got this weird feeling, and I guided me to your planet.”

“Wait, you were on Defiance II?” He asked, and I nodded and remembered he couldn’t see me.

“Yeah, I worked there,” I replied, and I heard his hand go over his com. He was yelling, but it was muffled.

“Would you happen to- did you interact with the First Order?” The man asked.

“Yeah, I did. Can you tell me if there are-” I paused. Jedi aren’t always considered the best things in the world some places, and I wondered if I should ask if there were any Jedi among them.

“Hey, still there?” he asked, and I laughed.

“Sorry, I’m just- never mind. Can I land?” I asked, and the hand went over the com again. More talking.

“Yes, you’re cleared for landing. Sending coordinates,” The voice said, and Joy filled my chest. The pull was happy. The coordinates flashed on the incoming message board. I plugged them into the system and began to fly down.

“Received, I’m on my way,” I said.

The coordinates lead me to a large landing pad, where I set down smoothly. Two men, both young, and two women, one older, and one younger, ran up to me. I hopped to the ground and started walking toward them. We met a few yards away from the Cruizer I’d taken.

“You were in contact with the First Order?” The first man, a black guy with a leather jacket asked.

“Rhea, nice to meet you,” I laughed. He blushed and put out his hand.

“I’m Finn. That’s Poe, he was the one talking to you on the radio,” He said and pointed with his thumb to the, *Very* attractive man standing a little ways behind him. “This is General Organa,” He referred to the older woman, “and this is Rey.” 

Rey was a young woman with brown hair tied into a bun on the back of her head with the hair at the nape of her neck free. She was pretty, but beyond her exterior, I felt a chord inside me sound. The pull in my chest had come from her. It all clicked in place.

I shook hands with all and bowed to General Organa. I knew she was a princess. I lived on a party planet, not under a rock.

“Nice to meet you all. I was in contact with the First Order on Defiance II,” I said, once all the introductions were finished.

“Ok, let's go inside,” Poe suggested, and I nodded. I felt a calming energy from the two woman, so I went along with them. 

We walked inside the compound. I guessed they were the resistance, from their stance on the First Order. The compound was older and used, cracked walls and the such, but I felt the walls, and I knew they wouldn’t fall for a thousand years. 

We walked into a conference room, and I sat on the other side of it after vaulting the table itself and landing in the chair. I sat back, real relaxed. They all arranged themselves across the table from me, and I Finn put a recorder on the table. I raised my eyebrows and scanned their faces. They were dead serious. 

“Mkay as long as this is an interrogation, hi my name is Rhea Gandion, I’m 24, I’m Force-sensitive, I like long walks on the beach and doing drugs. How are Y'all?” I said with full throttle sarcasm.

“No way, me too!” General Organa replied, and the three youngsters looked at her in surprise. The two of us just shared a laugh.

“Uh, we’re doing good. Can you please give us an account of your experiences with the First Order?” Finn responded, still off from Organa’s reaction to my humor. I was pleasantly surprised at her reaction too, and I had a newfound respect for her. I tended to associate extended age with a lack of a sense of humor, but she’d proved me wrong.

“Well since you asked nicely, sure.” I leaned forward and rested my head on my fist. “I worked as a Prettie, one of the people who greet visitors and works all over the planet, unless we're asked to accompany a guest. I was asked to accompany Kylo Ren,” I said, and everyone at the table, aside from Organa and I, gasped.

“Something else I should mention, I grew up with him. I Trained with him as Master Luke’s Padawan, if you’d like some more surprise. He wanted to catch up on life stuff,” I said and cleared my throat. “Can I have a glass of water? I didn’t pack before I left the planet, so I’m kinda thirsty.”

Poe Dameron handed me a canteen full of water, and I drank from it. It was the best water I’d ever had. I wiped my mouth of the water and put the cap back on slowly. For some reason, my hands were trembling.

“We went to a bar and got a little high. Nothing crazy, just some B2, and he questioned me about my past and involvement with the Force. I’d cut off my use of it so he couldn’t track me as well, that’s what he’d been wondering about. We hung out in the Bar for a little while just talking, and then we hung out in the virtual reality pods, where he tried to convert me to the dark side for a while longer. We both realized what a mistake it had been to talk to each other, so we left the VR pod.” I said and took another sip of water.

“We took a transport up to ground level and then, as I was going to go to work, but my friend Victoria was sitting in the street crying. I ran up to her, and she was crying really hard, that wasn’t like her, so I was really concerned. She told me that General Hux hit her and tried to molest her, so I put my body between him and her to break the line of sight. Sometimes that works with unruly guests, but he just got angrier. He pulled out his blaster and shot at me, but-” I thought for a moment. “I froze it and then shot it at the sky. Then I took my friend to our housing center and went to work in the Minute By Minute. I went to bed at 10 at night, my planet time, and woke up at about 4 in the morning, when I was compelled by the Force to take a cruizer, and come here,” I finished and sat back in the chair. I looked at their faces. General Organa looked worn down. Rey was worried, Poe was worried, Finn was worried. The only one with resolve in their face was General Organa. 

Then I connected the dots between Kylo Ren and General Organa. I’d seen her before when I was very small. She’d gone to see Ben Solo, her son.


	7. The Attack

“We’ve been under the First Order’s thumb for so long, we never expected them to just- go off, leaving base level guards around to keep an eye on us,” Poe said as he sat at the bar with a little space between us. He’d invited me to get a drink with him after the meeting was over, and the people had disbursed to do with the information that they needed. 

“I’ve kinda not been affected by the First Order for the most part of my adulthood,” I said and sipped the beer Poe ordered for me. “What exactly have they done?” 

“That’s a basket of bugs you do not want to turn over,” He said and laughed. This was a gallows humor laugh, nothing as pure as a chuckle.

“Elaborate?” I asked, and Poe looked a little sad, but tired, and like he definitely didn’t want to ‘elaborate.’

“Well, they’ve destroyed planets,” He said, studying his beer. “And tried to kill us many times, and is completely authoritarian, plus they kill quite a few people every day,” He made eye contact with me again, “including me, and maybe the friend you mentioned if you hadn’t intervened.”

I shivered. I was really glad I got to Victoria before General Hux had.

“I’m glad I got to her first,” I said and sipped my beer. It was some crappy brew that was enough alcohol that it couldn’t be sold to minors but wasn’t enough to really get drunk without drinking your own weight of them first. 

“Yeah, she coulda been in serious trouble,” he responded. He continued to study his beer.

My mind wandered in the quiet. I thought of Defiance II, and that lead me to think of Victoria, who lead me to think about General Hux, who lead me to think of Kylo. I wondered why he’d adopted such an odd name, even if it seemed to fit his dark alter ego. 

“Did you ever meet him?” I asked, looking at Poe.

“Meet who?” he asked, his eyes clear. I could reach into his head if I wanted to, but something told me not to.

“Kylo Ren,” I asked, and Poe’s eyes darted to his drink quicker than lightning.

“Once, but I didn’t know it was him,” He said, a smile spreading across his face. “He was wearing his mask.” He laughed a little. I smiled with him.

“I bet that thing gave him pretty bad helmet hair,” I responded, and we laughed together. 

“Yeah, I’d bet actual money he uses some form of hair gel,” He cracked. I raised my eyebrows.

“How much?” I asked and laughed, watching his face. I wasn’t really a casino type gambler, but bets like this, I liked.

“I dunno, twenty units?” he said, and I laughed.

“I know you had a beer, but I will hold you to that,” I said, and he laughed.

“I’m coherent,” he said. “I’ll pay up if I’m wrong.”

 

“And I said, I’ll hold you to it,” I replied and drained my beer.

-

He wasn’t on Defiance II anymore. None of them were, and I could tell even though my hangover. 

When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was. I was in a full sized bed (no shitty little bunks), with light streaming in onto my face, naked, and someone else was there. Even if I’d had more than a few miles on my first class flyer’s card, I wasn’t used to waking up in someone else’s bed, and not even on Defiance II. 

I didn’t quite remember why I was here until Poe bumped me. Now I may not be too good at math, but 1+1 doesn’t make modesty, and nudity in someone else’s bed doesn’t make 2. His leg shifted as I lay on my back looking at the sunlit ceiling. His leg bumped me as he shifted in his sleep, and it was like being struck by lightning. 

A shock went through me, as did all the memories. No, not just memories of what had happened yesterday, more- Something was going on- and it was happening around here- and on Defiance II. I reached out with my mind, and onto Defiance II. no one was there. No one- at all. Defiance II had a population of tens of thousands on most days, but no one was there.

My stomach twisted. No one was there. What had he done? Where were they? Where were my friends?! Kylo- he couldn’t have killed them!

I sat up, my heart racing. I had to do something. I flung my legs out of bed and took stalk of my surroundings. Clothes- clothes, where were my clothes! My flight suit, where was it?! 

It was hanging from the handle of his chest of drawers. I snatched at it and pulled it on in record time. I must have made a ruckus when I was finding my clothes because when I turned back, he was looking up at me.

“Hey, you look like you saw a ghost, you ok?” he asked, morning voice and all. 

“Nope, Not at all! The First Order isn’t on Defiance II anymore, no one is either! Either they all decided to desert their posts by jumping planets, or their all dead and The First Order is on their way back here,” I said and zipped up my flight suit. It was tan with lots of patches on it, half of which I didn’t know the origin of. It was a lot more comfortable in the tiny spaceship than my pajamas, so I’d ditched my PJs in the back of the cruizer. 

“Wa-wa-wait wait, how do you know?” he asked, sitting up.

“I don’t know, because my best friends called me on a conference call to let me know shit was up?” I said and turned to him. “Because I grew into an adult there! Reaching out to D2 is the easiest thing I can do with the Force! Second, being finding Kylo Ren, and he is certainly not there anymore!” I shouted. “Get dressed! I have to warn them!” 

“Ok ok, just hold on,” He hopped out of bed and got dressed. He was wearing a dark leather jacket and dark brown pants. His shirt was about the same tan as my jumpsuit. While my hair looked like a Porg had made a nest of it, his was fine. If I bet anyone used hair gel, it would be Poe. I ran my hands through my hair until it was flat- well, as flat as it ever is. I have fairly curly hair, so it's never really flat, but it had been two days since I’d showered, my hair was gross.

We ran through the halls, I followed Poe until we got into a war room. A bunch of people stood off to the side, but directly in my line of sight, stood General Leia Organa. 

“General Organa!” I said and jumped over the meeting table to be on the other side of the table, seeing her face to face. “The First Order is on their way, they’re almost here,” I said, and tears were deforming my vision. “They killed all my friends, no one is left. I feel it, they’re on their way,” I said and paused. “We have to get ready for a hell of a fight.” 

“We know. We were monitoring Defiance II’s output feed, they went silent two hours ago,” she replied, “We can’t see them anywhere.” 

I smacked my forehead.

“The VR,” I whispered. There was a type of software in the machinery of the VR pods that hid the spots where the walls intersected. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as close to a cloaking device as had ever been invented, and the way Kylo had looked at the walls, It was obvious what he’d done.

I explained this to General Organa, while all her minions took notes.

“I think I can tell, if the image is strong enough, where it would be,” I said after a pause in the conversation. A breath of energy tickled my spine, and I stood up straight. ‘Victoria’ it said, and I felt my stomach twist in pain. Victoria was most likely dead.

“That's good, because they’ll be here soon,” she responded, and instantly, I knew it to be true. He was near, almost as if I could feel his eyes on my back. ‘Victoria’ the Force said again.

“I- I know,” I said, and looked at the board, but all I saw wasn’t seeing the board. I was seeing the space between myself and Kylo- and Victoria. Victoria was on those ships, and so was everyone else. Hostages, not dead. Better than nothing.

“I have to go,” I said, and vaulted the table once more. I walked out the door, and no one followed. The voice that whispered Victoria whispered to me, giving me directions down the halls. I found myself outside, looking at the sky, the blue, cloudless sky. Like I could see Kylo’s ship. But- I could. I could see it like I could see Kylo or Defiance II. It wasn't sighted with my eyes, it was a knowledge I couldn’t describe, other than to say it was everywhere, between every atom, feuling every action. 

“They’re here,” a voice said, and I jumped. Rey stood next to me, looking up at the sky.

“I know,” I said. She had a feeling for her, a courage I didn’t possess in the way she did. My courage wasn’t in doing what was right all the time, mine was found in my friend’s lives. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t known it was for the best. I wondered what would have happened if I’d ignored the call. Would I be dead now, too? Would Victoria, Kaylee, and the rest be dead?

“You can never know that,” Rey said, and I smiled at her. “It doesn’t matter what could have happened. You came here for a reason, and it doesn’t matter anymore.” 

“All we can do is save as many as we can,” I said, and she nodded.

“What can you do from here?” She asked, nodding at the sky.

“I don’t know. I’ve never done anything that big before,” I said, but even as I said it, I knew I had to, whether I could or not- that was undecided. “I know the VR well, but this is different.”

“You have too,” she said.

“I know,” I replied. I reached out to the ship. It was there, hiding, but arming itself. I felt around the ships. All of my co-workers were there, even some of our droids, they were all there. 

I reached out with my physical hand and imagined the dials on one of The VR pods. I pretended to turn it off, following through the motions of turning off the pod. Rey touched her ear and looked at me with interest.

“What are you doing?” she asked, and I blushed.

“Pretending to turn off the pod,” I said, and Rey’s eyes widened.

“Do it again,” She commanded, and I did. 

“It’s flickering,” I said, eyes on the ship. “It’s on an- ah fuck, he’s a genius- it's on a reset loop. Ever few milliseconds, it resets. Faster than the human eye, but when I turn it off from here, it gets confused and resets but it’s enough to let us see,” I said, and looked at Rey. Her power was remaining untapped. She wasn’t even trying to help. I grabbed her by the wrist and began to shut it down as quickly as I could. Instead of turning off the cloak, I looked for the infinite loop. When I found it, I crushed it and turned off the cloak for the last time.

“It’s fully off,” she said and laughed happily.

“Let's go, we have to get inside before they start shooting,” I said, and we started running toward the bunker. I felt a tremor run through the ground. The First Order had begun it’s assault.

“They’ve started,” I said and opened the door to the bunker from afar. We slid inside and I shut it after checking for other people outside. The ground shook again, and we fell to the ground. I felt around the base, and my stomach twisted. The walls had been compromised.

“The walls-” I said, and Rey nodded. She sprang to her feet.

“Get people out, monitor the walls and such. I’m going to the war room to help monitor.” Rey said and started sprinting away. I stood up, and another shock went through the building. 

I watched a long crack run through the hallway’s ceiling, and through the wall on the inside. Dust particles began to fall through the cracks, and deposit into the air. I brushed them aside so I could see down the hall. It was deserted, but around the corner and down some ways, there were people. I felt around the spot they were located, and the supports were worse around them. I was safer than everyone else in the compound. I concentrated, and began to project a map to them, and I watched as they began to follow it. Soon, I saw a large group of people walking toward me. I directed them out, and into ships that could take off in a moments notice, when another tremor shook the building. I ditched helping them out and held the roof.

I screamed. It was so heavy, and my head hurt. I reached out to the walls and took the stress of the breaking cement.

I felt my muscles straining against the weight as if I were holding up the sky, like the myth of Atlas. I was a titan, and instead of being made to hold up the sky, I did it because I wanted to. I wanted to keep them safe. I wanted to stop the First Order from destroying myself and the Resistance. I wanted to-

The roof lifted off the ground. I was lifting the mountainside that was above the compound, and I threw it across the desolate planet. 

Once it landed at a safe distance. I collapsed. I was beyond tired, and the over exertion took its tole.

I sunk to the floor as the corners of my vision collapsed.


End file.
